Management of high caries risk patients: part I--risk assessment.

The global burden of oral disease and dental caries has been steadily rising even as improved and novel tools for reconstructing the damaged dentition are rapidly evolving. The increased burden of the dental caries worldwide may be attributed to the fact that dentists and dental schools still typically focus on treatment rather than prevention of the disease. The World Health Organization through the 60th World Health Assembly has passed a resolution that advocates integration of prevention and early intervention measures of dental caries for all the member nations. Although the traditional “drill and fill” approach has served well to restore function and esthetics, it has failed to prevent the incidence of new caries lesions. This becomes an even larger challenge in patients who are at a higher risk for developing new lesions.